The present invention is a basketball net designed to facilitate preferred directional momentum to an exiting basketball. The basketball net is designed and constructed in a manner such that the basketball exiting the net has desired exit-trajectory and rotational spin. The present invention enables the basketball leaving the net to return towards the preferred direction, which is, field of play instead of an undefined random direction. The asymmetry is induced by either substituting existing cord segments with those having elastomeric properties, or surface treatment on internal face of the net at particular sections so as to create frictional differentiation.
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14. An asymmetric basketball net assembly comprising:
an asymmetric net comprising at least one cord, wherein the at least one cord comprises a plurality of segments;
said asymmetric net having an upper end and a lower end, wherein the upper end is broader than the lower end;
said asymmetric net having at least one fore section comprising one or more of the plurality of segments, at least one rear section comprising one or more of the plurality of segments, and at least two side sections each comprising one or more of the plurality of segments;
wherein at least one of said segments in a lower portion of the at least one fore section is separated into multiple disconnected sub-segments; and
wherein the one or more segments in each of the at least two side sections have varying elasticity, wherein one or more of the segments more proximate to the at least one fore section are less elastic than one or more of the segments more proximate to the at least one rear section.
1. An asymmetric basketball net assembly comprising:
an asymmetric net comprising at least one cord, wherein the at least one cord comprises a plurality of segments;
said asymmetric net having an upper end and a lower end, wherein the upper end is broader than the lower end;
said asymmetric net having at least one fore section comprising one or more of the plurality of segments, at least one rear section comprising one or more of the plurality of segments, and at least two side sections each comprising one or more of the plurality of segments;
wherein at least one of said segments in one or more of the at least one fore section, the at least one rear section, and the at least two side sections differs in elasticity from one or more other segments among the plurality of segments; and
wherein the one or more segments in each of the at least two side sections have varying elasticity, wherein one or more of the segments more proximate to the at least one fore section are less elastic than one or more of the segments more proximate to the at least one rear section.
9. An asymmetric basketball net assembly comprising:
an asymmetric net comprising at least one cord, wherein the at least one cord comprises a plurality of segments;
said asymmetric net having an upper end and a lower end, wherein the upper end is broader than the lower end;
said asymmetric net having at least one fore section comprising one or more of the plurality of segments, at least one rear section comprising one or more of the plurality of segments, and at least two side sections each comprising one or more of the plurality of segments; and
wherein at least one of said segments in one or more of the at least one fore section, the at least one rear section, and the at least two side sections differs in one or more surface frictional properties from one or more other segments among the plurality of segments, wherein said at least one of the segments in one or more of the at least one fore section, the at least one rear section, and the at least two side sections that differs in one or more surface frictional properties from one or more other segments among the plurality of segments comprises at least one of a surface treated with a lubricant, a textured surface, and a segment formed of different thread weaves.
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This application is based on Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/872,145, entitled “Asymetric Basketball Net to Support Ball Return” filed on Aug. 30, 2013. The entire contents of the foregoing application hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a basketball net designed to facilitate preferred directional momentum to an exiting basketball. More particularly, the present invention relates to a basketball net designed and constructed in a manner such that the basketball exiting the net has a desired exit-trajectory and rotational spin. The present invention enables the basketball leaving the net to return towards the preferred direction, which is, towards the field of play instead of an undefined random direction.
Traditional or state of the art basketball nets have symmetric conical shape and are kept in place by various means. While playing the game, the basketball is thrown towards the net to make it pass through the same. The players then strive to re-gain control of the ball again. Now, during this process the basketball can exit through the bottom of the net at different angles depending upon the route which basketball travels through the hoop or rim. For instance, basketballs falling straight down through the center of the rim fall vertically downward when exiting the net. Alternatively, if the basketball falls through the hoop slightly off-center, the basketball may touch the hoop or even the board before falling through the net. The basketball can then bounce forward, backward, to the left, or to the right after falling through the net. If the basketball constantly exits the basketball net at different angles, a basketball player must continuously retrieve the basketball from different locations. Such a situation demands extra effort and may require additional attention particularly when the basketball court is located near hills, pedestrians, traffic or undesirable locations where the basketball may bounce after exiting the basketball net. This additional effort and attention deters overall enjoyment of the game and increases the risk of injury to players and bystanders.
There have been a number of inventions that are designed to address the problem. U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,337 describes a basketball return apparatus formed of an injection molded device which is formed as a resilient deflector including a spine extending the length of the device. The spine has a pair of upper and lower wings which are located behind a net suspended from a hoop rim.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,017 discloses multiple elongated flexible channel straps each having a top end that attaches to a basketball rim and bottom end. The slope of the channel straps control the angle and speed in which a basketball exists the net.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,349 has disclosed basketball net having an integrally formed resilient net-like body of a generally tapered configuration. A connected undulating central waist portion of the body is defined by a series of oppositely disposed upper and lower cutouts to facilitate limited stretching of the net-like body about its waist.
Mechanical devices disclosed in prior art rely upon rigid or semi-rigid elements, collectively referred to as “chute” type of device, to re-direct the ball after leaving the hoop. However, these do not see universal adoption by players and hoop owners. Rigid chute devices are gaining popularity among players as a way to facilitate ball return, but such devices have multiple drawbacks. For instance, their appearance does not support the look and feel of a competitive game—but implies a level of amateurism or incompetence—similar to how a set of training wheels impacts the look of a bike. They are costly but look childish and unprofessional. Most of the times, chutes do not get along with the aesthetic and historical beauty of the game. Not only that, chutes can interfere with jump shots and slam dunk shots—creating an unwanted and unsafe obstruction to play. Chutes are not admired as they interfere with the competitive nature of the game, imparting unwanted rebound to balls shot below the rim that would otherwise not be impeded by the net alone
Accordingly, there is requirement of a professional, aesthetic and effective design of basketball net that directs the basketball in a preferred direction while exiting the net. There is requirement of a design which is acceptable to the professionals and doesn't interfere with the beauty of the game while achieving the desired returning function.
The present invention is a basketball net designed to facilitate preferred directional momentum to an exiting basketball. The basketball net is designed and constructed in a manner such that the basketball exiting the net has desired exit-trajectory and rotational spin. The present invention enables the basketball leaving the net to return towards the preferred direction, which is, field of play instead of an undefined random direction.
Asymmetry in the design of the basketball net is induced to create a front facing net direction and an aft facing net direction as well as two sides. The basketball net is asymmetric in manner that at least one of construction, design, roughness, continuity of rope, or addition of elements is different in different parts of the basketball net geometry.
In current designs, the V shapes at the upper end of net are the result of having a single loop attached to a hoop anchor creating an inverted V. In an embodiment, asymmetry is induced by increasing the number of primary connectors to the hoop. Inverted V shapes adjacent to each other allows for momentum of the ball through the hoop and initial net contact to establish the trajectory as the ball leaves the net. Managing the sway and rebound in the fore or aft directions can influence exit trajectory of the ball towards the forward direction. Increasing the number of attachments to the hoop anchors results in range of motion limited more to one direction than another through increased triangulation.
In another embodiment, frictional asymmetry in the internal net surface is induced. Increased friction on the aft segments compared to the front segments slows the trajectory on the side of the ball dropping through the net, allowing the front face of the ball to accelerate faster, thereby inducing rotational spin into the ball. Though this spin and the differential friction doesn't necessarily alter the ball's exit trajectory, yet upon landing, the spin induces a bounce that will alter the trajectory of the ball such that it has more force orienting it to move towards the center of the court.
In traditional construction, basketball nets are circular at their top as well as their bottom. In an embodiment of the present invention, geometrical asymmetry, especially at the bottom, is induced. The asymmetric shape, like that of an egg, is employed so as to provide additional constriction and resistance to passage through the aft of the net as compared to the fore of the net. In such a manner, a favored trajectory is induced due to reduced forward constriction. In addition to that is induced a rotational spin due of increase restriction based friction at the aft side of the ball, creating a spin which imparts a bounce toward the center court.
In an embodiment of the present invention, asymmetric rope material of preferably more elastic sections in specific parts of the net weave is used. The asymmetry imparts differential elasticity in overall net geometry, resulting in a forward oriented trajectory of ball while exiting to assist in returning the ball to play.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a design and construction of a basketball net to facilitate preferred directional momentum to an exiting basketball.
Another object of the invention is to obviate use of traditional chute like devices and provide asymmetric construction approach to achieve desired results, while maintaining the safety, beauty and aesthetic appearance similar if not identical to traditional net designs.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a basketball net with inbuilt property of facilitating ball return.
The above and yet other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the hereinafter set forth brief description of the drawings, detailed description of the invention, and claims appended herewith.
The present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the figures in which various embodiments of the present invention are shown. The subject matter of this disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein.
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It is prevalent from the foregoing embodiments and drawings that the basketball net assembly has constructional asymmetry wherein the fore and aft regions of the net differ from each other in spring rate, or elongation, or constructional elements, or weave pattern, or surface patterns and configuration. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the asymmetric net has segments in aft of the mid-line when viewed from the side designed to have a higher coefficient of friction on the surfaces that will likely contact the ball as it passes through the net, while segments forward of the mid-line when viewed from the side are designed to have a lower coefficient of friction on the surfaces that will likely contact the ball as it passes through the net. The coefficient of friction may be modified in any number of ways or combinations of ways. These may include spraying with lubricants or state of the art agents to confer a surface treatment. Use of threads in the construction of the segments that have different friction characteristics (eg: including the use of a latex cord as one of the threads of the weave of a given rope to increase friction) is also workable.
In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, a hybrid rope is used to form the net assembly. The rope allows limited stretch. Elastic segments are constructed that have a limited amount of stretch, after which it acts like rope, as opposed to having bungee cord only which has the ability to increase its length by more than 300%. State of the art material of basketball nets is hollow, with a tube style of weave with the appearance of broad strong rope. However, it is actually flexible, hollow, soft and light. This state of the art material with a bungee cord installed within the hollow thus making a hybrid rope imparts desirable limited stretch. Thus, the segment is allowed to have 15 to 35% stretch before the line reaches its taught state and behaves conventionally.
In an alternate embodiment, the foregoing features may be integrated together. For instance, the fore segments being weak spring members as well as elongated resulting into minimal force return together with the bottom loops separated to allow passage with no force return. The combination of high and low friction coefficients may be applied in the assembly to have a cumulative effect on the overall momentum of the basketball exiting through the net.
In an alternate embodiment, the upper-fore section and lower-rear section have higher spring rates as compared to that of lower-fore section.
To achieve the desired asymmetry, spring effect has been induced in various embodiments explained in the foregoing paragraphs. Such spring effect may be introduced in a number of ways. The non limiting examples include:
The essence of the present invention is to make a basketball net asymmetric in physical, mechanical or both properties. This can also be achieved in already existing nets by means of kits which include removable segments and other accessories for customization. This is advantageous in the situation at public courts, where players may wish to install their kit upon arrival at the court and remove the kit upon departure.
Given the fact that the preferred direction of ball return is towards field of play, the design of the net is symmetrical about the mid-line when viewed from the center court of the field of play. These left and right sides are symmetrical. Descriptions in this application describe only one side as a means of clarity of writing—and should not be assumed as a one-sided or limited solution.
To address safety concerns, the present invention further provides multiple ways in which elastic members may be designed in order to limit their stretch. For instance, this may be achieved through the use of coaxial elastic within the hollow core of woven line. By limiting the extent to which the elastic members can stretch before reaching pre-defined limits safety levels as compared to a traditional net are maintained. In addition to the same, other means may also be employed to restrict people from hanging on the net, such as a tighter mesh weave to overlay all or part of the net such that one cannot place their fingers through the weave.
In preferred embodiments, segments of varying mechanical qualities may be adorned with different colors to accentuate the net and highlight its performance characteristics and accentuate the brand image. Segments may also modified with various means to change their acoustic quality, to enable a player to better hear the sound of the ball passing through the net and interpret the location and trajectory of the shot based upon the acoustic qualities of the ball interacting with the modified net.
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